Neuropsychological Profiles of Victims of Financial Elder Exploitation at the Los Angeles County Elder Abuse Forensic Center |
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| Authors: | Stacey Wood Benjamin Rakela Pi-Ju Liu Adria E. Navarro Susan Bernatz Kathleen H. Wilber |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Psychology, Scripps College, Claremont, California, USAswood@scrippscollege.edu;3. Department of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Portland, Oregon, USA;4. Department of Psychology, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California, USA;5. School of Behavioral and Applied Sciences, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, California, USA;6. Los Angeles County Elder Abuse Forensic Center, Los Angeles, California, USA;7. Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Los Angeles, California, USA |
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| Abstract: | The current article examines neuropsychological correlates of financial elder exploitation in a sample of older adults who have been documented victims of financial elder exploitation. The purpose of this exploratory study was twofold. First, a subsample of the referrals at the Los Angeles County Elder Abuse Forensic Center (LACEAFC) was compared to community dwelling adults in terms of the specific cognitive domains linked to financial capacity including memory, calculation, and executive functioning. Next, the correlation between presence of neuropsychological data and the likelihood of filing a case with the LA County’s District Attorney office was examined. Twenty-seven LACEAFC cases and 32 controls were assessed. Overall, the forensic center group performed worse than a community-based age-matched control group on the MMSE, calculation, and executive functioning (ps < .01). The presence of neuropsychological data was significantly correlated to an increased likelihood of a case being filed. |
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| Keywords: | financial abuse forensic centers neuropsychology |
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